Can I Get a Witness?

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

  Chapter 14

  Dionne couldn’t take the look of disgust written all over her sisters’ faces. Rosolyn had dropped Bryson off at a playmate’s house and she and Dionne were now sitting in the living room at Rosolyn’s house. Dionne just wanted to go home and cry herself to sleep. She wasn’t in the mood to be lectured. It didn’t help that Vanessa was waiting outside Rosolyn’s place when they pulled up. Rosolyn had called her from the car and told her that it was “imperative” that she come in for a “crisis intervention.”

  Now both of them were towering over Dionne like she was a child being scolded.

  “I can’t believe you were up in the mall fighting some woman over a man.” Rosolyn shook her head like a schoolteacher. “Where are your standards? You don’t think more of yourself than that?”

  “Yeah, Dionne,” Vanessa added. “What is that about? I can’t believe you stooped to that level. Aunt Ida would die if she knew you were out there fighting like some hood rat.”

  Dionne tried to tune them out, but the way they both were dumping on her, she could tell that it was going to be virtually impossible. They would never understand. The thought of being a single mother was eating her alive. That was not her life’s plan. She was supposed to marry Roland, then they’d have kids a year later. She wasn’t supposed to be pregnant and manless. That was what was sending her into an unimaginable depression and had her doing things she knew she didn’t have any business doing—like fighting in malls—while she was pregnant.

  “I don’t know why we women do that,” Rosolyn said, pacing back and forth across her living room. “You should be getting mad at your man. That woman doesn’t owe you anything. We get mad at our man cheating and want to jump the woman.” She looked snidely over at Vanessa.

  “What?” Vanessa frowned up. “Don’t look at me, Rosolyn. This is about Dionne.”

  Dionne nursed her left cheek, which was still sore from when Tasha smashed her face into the table. She should’ve known better than to go toe to toe with Tasha, since Roland had already told her Tasha grew up in the Fifth Ward, the rough part of town. But when she saw them together, a tide of rage had overtaken her. “Please, you guys. I’m not in the mood for a lecture, okay?”

  “Somebody needs to lecture you because you are getting out of control,” Rosolyn chastised, sounding like somebody’s mama.

  Dionne finally decided to speak up for herself. “You two just don’t understand. If everything you ever wanted was coming to an end, you’d be upset, too.”

  “Everything I ever wanted is coming to an end,” Vanessa said glumly.

  Rosolyn took a deep breath. “Both of you need to get yourselves together.” She glared at Dionne again. “And you should be ashamed of yourself. Bryson had to witness all of this nonsense. How could you act like that?”

  “Look, Mrs. Perfect,” Dionne snapped, “everybody can’t have the fairy-tale life. You wouldn’t understand why I reacted the way I did. You have the perfect husband, the perfect child, the perfect Martha Stewart home with your flowered couches and doilies all over the coffee table.”

  Rosolyn was silent for a few minutes before she said, “You’re right. I’m in no position to judge you.”

  Dionne ignored her and continued her rant. “Some of us have problems in our lives, you know. We’re not perfect like you.”

  Rosolyn told Dionne sadly, “I said I was sorry, okay? And I keep telling you all that my life is not perfect.”

  “Whatever,” Dionne shot back. “Big Sis is as close to perfect as I’ll ever get.”

  “I’d have to agree, Ros,” Vanessa chimed in. “You couldn’t possibly understand what either of us is going through. I mean—”

  “Stop it. Stop saying that now,” Rosolyn loudly snapped, cutting her off.

  Both Vanessa and Dionne stared at her, their eyes wide. Rosolyn never had outbursts, so this one caught both of them by surprise.

  “I am so sick and tired of people talking about how perfect my life is,” she said, her voice cracking. She sank into the recliner and started crying so hard that it scared her sisters. Both of them stood up and went over to her. Rosolyn was their rock. She wasn’t supposed to break down.

  “Rosolyn, what’s wrong?” Vanessa asked.

  “I’m just tired of trying to put on this happy face when my life feels like one big lie,” Rosolyn wept.

  “Okay,” Vanessa said, “something is going on and you need to talk to us.”

  “Yeah, Ros. What’s up?” Dionne asked, her voice laced with concern.

  Rosolyn took a deep breath like she was trying to gather up her strength. “Henry is not…” She stopped short and shook her head.

  “What?” Dionne demanded.

  “Are you guys having financial troubles?” Vanessa asked.

  Rosolyn shook her head again but didn’t say anything.

  “Don’t tell me he’s cheating?” Dionne interjected, bridling at the thought. “’Cuz if ol’ holier-than-thou Pastor Henry is cheating, then there’s no hope for the rest of us!”

  Rosolyn had dated Henry since they were in high school. He was a little bit anal but, other than that, as close to perfect as a man could get. He was handsome, intelligent, and loved Rosolyn to death.

  “Henry’s not cheating,” Rosolyn said somberly.

  “Well, are you cheating?” Dionne laughed. Could all three sisters have messes at the same time? The smile quickly left her face as she narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Oh, my God. You are cheating.”

  Rosolyn began fiddling with her hands but kept looking at the floor. “Not anymore.” She wiped her tears. “But I did. A long time ago.”

  Vanessa and Dionne relaxed a bit. “Well, maybe you just had to get your freak on a minute. I mean, you have been with Henry since you were sixteen,” Dionne said. “I understand that. And what Henry doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

  “Henry knows,” Rosolyn said mournfully.

  “What?” Vanessa exclaimed. “Did you tell him?”

  “Ooooh, did you get busted?” Dionne asked.

  “No, I told him.”

  Vanessa and Dionne exchanged glances over Rosolyn’s head. “So, what did you go and do a dumb thing like that for?” Dionne asked. They both knew their big sister was an honest person, but this was something you took to your grave.

  “I didn’t have a choice.” Rosolyn got up and walked over to the living room window.

  “What does that mean?” Vanessa said, following behind her.

  Rosolyn took another deep breath as she kept her back to her sisters. “I had to tell him.” She fought back more tears. “My affair happened seven years ago.”

  “Well, that is a long time ago,” Vanessa said. Now she didn’t see what all the fuss was about. “You two seem to have rebounded well.”

  Rosolyn turned and looked Vanessa dead in the eye. “Bryson is seven.”

  Vanessa’s mouth immediately dropped open and Dionne’s eyes widened in horror.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Vanessa whispered, shocked. Rosolyn slowly nodded.

  “Oh, my God. You are lying!” Dionne gasped.

  “I wish I was.”

  Rosolyn picked up a family photo from the mantel. They looked like the picture-perfect family, all of them dressed in their navy suits. “Have either of you ever wondered why my son is so light-skinned and his daddy is so dark?” She lovingly returned the picture to its right place.

  “Shoot, I thought it just reached back some generations,” Dionne said. “You know Grandma was half white. I never in a million years would’ve imagined it was because you were creepin’.”

  Vanessa shot Dionne an admonishing look. Rosolyn didn’t seem bothered by her sister’s crass remark as she continued. “Naturally, Henry was devastated when I told him. And I had to tell him,” she emphasized, glancing toward Dionne. “You know I don’t believe in abortions, and I couldn’t have lived with the lie of trying to pass off another man’s baby. I just prayed that Henry woul
dn’t leave me. It was hard, but he eventually forgave me and took Bryson in as his own.”

  “Wh-who is Bryson’s father?” Vanessa stammered. She was having a hard time digesting everything.

  Rosolyn let out a pained chuckled. “A man I met at a church conference before Henry became a minister. I thought Henry had cheated on me with another woman. She called me to tell me about her and Henry’s affair. He denied it, but I didn’t believe him. He was gone all the time at seminary school, so I just assumed the worst. I was angry and slept with Damon to get revenge. He’s the only other man I’ve ever been with,” she said, making the point clear. “We met up a couple of times, but Damon wasn’t the one-woman type, so he quickly grew bored and moved on.” She let out a long sigh. “Yep, I was trying to pay Henry back for hurting me. And as it turns out, the other woman was playing me, trying to cause problems in my marriage.”

  “What?” Vanessa and Dionne exclaimed at the same time.

  Rosolyn slowly nodded. “I found out that she wanted Henry, but the feeling wasn’t reciprocated. She didn’t take rejection very well and set out to cause problems between us.”

  “Dang, so you had unprotected sex with another man? Several times?” Dionne asked, still amazed. “You? The first lady?”

  “I wasn’t the first lady then, and we did use protection.”

  “Well, then, how do you know Bryson isn’t Henry’s child?” Vanessa wanted to know.

  Rosolyn pursed her lips, then admitted, “Henry is sterile. He can’t have any children.” Her sisters jerked back slightly, never having suspected it. “But just in case there had been some kind of miracle, we had a DNA test. Bryson is Damon’s child. And since Damon already had two kids out of wedlock, he was very happy to let Henry officially adopt Bryson. He signed over his rights without batting an eyelash and we haven’t spoken of it since. But it’s never stopped eating me alive.”

  “I am so sorry. I didn’t know,” Vanessa said gently.

  “I was a great actress,” Rosolyn said bitterly. “I lied to everyone, always playing the happy-go-lucky pastor’s wife, and inside I was dying.” She looked at Dionne. “So see, my life isn’t perfect. I carry my guilt every day. I know what I’m talking about when I say you have to let that anger go. It’s not healthy and it can lead to you doing something you regret.”

  Dionne contemplated her words. “Or I can look at your story as a sign that maybe me and Roland will work out after all,” she said.

  Vanessa and Rosolyn looked at each other in amazement. “How did she come up with that?” Rosolyn sniffed, finally forcing a small smile.

  “She got that because that’s what she wanted to get,” Vanessa said, letting out a small laugh herself.

  Dionne massaged her temple. A big part of her knew she needed to leave Roland alone, especially after the way that he’d just humiliated her at the mall. But the other part of her felt like they should at least try to work things out for the baby’s sake.

  “Uh-uh,” Vanessa said, eyeing Dionne closely. “I know you’re not thinking of giving Roland another chance.”

  Vanessa and Rosolyn continued to stare at their baby sister. She hated their judgmental looks.

  “Okay, I’m going to nip this in the bud right now.” Rosolyn stood up and marched over to the phone.

  “What are you doing?” Vanessa asked.

  “Calling Bruce.”

  “Who is Bruce?” Vanessa asked.

  Rosolyn punched a number into the cordless phone. “The guy who fixes our computers at work. I told him I wanted him to meet my sister.”

  Dionne’s mouth dropped open. “Rosolyn, I told you I wasn’t trying to meet anyone.”

  Rosolyn ignored her sister as she put the phone to her ear. Dionne stood and walked over in front of her sister. “Hang that phone up,” she demanded.

  “Hey, Bruce,” Rosolyn said, edging away from Dionne, “this is Rosolyn Frazier from The Mason House. Can you give me a call when you get a chance? I told my sister all about you and she’s anxious to meet you. Talk to you soon. ’Bye.”

  Vanessa exchanged smiles with Rosolyn. “Way to go, sis. Nothing like one man to make you forget about another. Got anybody for me?”

  Dionne huffed as she put her hands on her hips. “That was foul, Rosolyn. When that computer nerd calls back, you just tell him you were lying because I’m not trying to meet anyone else.”

  Rosolyn set the phone back in its cradle. “He’s not a nerd.” She gave Dionne a patient smile. “Seriously, just go out with him once. He loves to read, just like you do. He’s funny, charming, and he makes good money.”

  “And he’s probably butt-ugly,” Dionne responded.

  “Actually, he’s kinda cute,” Rosolyn replied. “He looks like a shorter version of Tiger Woods.”

  “If he’s not ugly, then he’s gay,” Dionne retorted.

  The look on Rosolyn’s face turned serious. “Dionne, please do this—for me. Just one date. If you don’t like him, I won’t pressure you anymore.”

  Dionne walked back over to the table, defiantly shaking her head.

  Vanessa tried another tactic with her sister. “You know, you said the thought of you with another man would drive Roland crazy. You should go out with this Bruce just so you have something to throw up in Roland’s face.”

  As Vanessa guessed, Dionne’s eyes brightened at that idea.

  “You gotta speak her language,” Vanessa whispered to Rosolyn.

  “Okay, I can get with that,” Dionne said, nodding like she was warming to the idea.

  Rosolyn sighed. “Dionne—”

  Vanessa held up a hand. “Shhhh. Whatever works.”

  Rosolyn shrugged in defeat. Dionne was beaming now. “Yeah. I will make sure Roland knows I went out with someone else.”

  “Dionne, Bruce is a nice guy,” Rosolyn protested. “I don’t want you using him.”

  “It’s just a date, isn’t that what you said?” Dionne’s mood had done a three-sixty. “When Bruce calls you back, give him my number. Tell him I can’t wait to talk to him.”

  Rosolyn tsked. “I’m only going through with this because he really is a nice guy and I think you’ll like him when you get to know him.”

  Dionne nodded. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She definitely wasn’t feeling another man. But making Roland jealous? Now that was something she could get with.

  Chapter 15

  Vanessa watched Rosolyn’s husband, Henry Frazier, in the pulpit. You could tell that man had been called to preach. He didn’t shout every word like some preachers. Rather, he reminded Vanessa of that mega-preacher Joel Osteen, the way he calmly delivered the Word.

  Henry was an average-looking man with skin the color of coffee. He had a strong, muscular physique and graying hair, but he always seemed to practice what he preached. For that reason he’d always been all right in Vanessa’s book, and usually she halfway liked what he was saying whenever she did hear him preach. Today, however, he was talking sheer nonsense.

  “Church, do you know the devil has been assigned to your marriage?” Henry proclaimed. “He’s assigned to destroy the family structure. He doesn’t want you to be happy. And he’s the happiest when he’s wreaking havoc in your family. That’s right, the devil stirs up lies, causes cheating and anything else he can do to break those bonds of love.”

  Vanessa couldn’t go along with that. The devil didn’t make Thomas screw another woman. His libido did.

  Ida, who was sitting to Vanessa’s left, reached over and patted her niece’s thigh. “Let it go, baby. Let that anger go. It can’t bring you no good,” she whispered.

  I’ll let it go when I’ve taught Thomas a lesson, Vanessa thought. Over the last few days, she had been consumed with thoughts of revenge. Aunt Ida must have known what was on her mind because she opened her King James Bible to Romans 12:19 and thrust the book toward Vanessa.

  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, sa
ith the Lord. Vanessa read the passage, plastered on a smile, and handed the Bible back to her aunt.

  All that was fine and dandy, but the Lord surely couldn’t expect Vanessa to just sit idly by and let Thomas hurt her the way he had. The Lord definitely had to understand Vanessa’s anger.

  Ida kept her attention focused on Henry as she took the Bible back. After he started talking about how more and more people weren’t honoring their vows made before God, Vanessa tuned him out completely. Instead, she focused on coming up with a plan. Despite what anyone might say, she was coming up with a plan to make Thomas sorry he had ever wronged her.

  Thirty minutes later, Vanessa was happy to see the service wrapped up. She’d devised a good idea to make Thomas pay and was anxious to get home and put her plan in motion.

  Vanessa was waiting in the church lobby as Ida said hello to some friends when she heard the James Earl Jones–sounding voice.

  “Well, hello, Judge Kirk.”

  Vanessa turned toward Senator Lee Johnson, the man who had been courting her to run for a seat in the Texas Senate.

  “Senator.” She reached out and gently hugged him. “So nice to see you. How’s the family?”

  The tall, handsome man not only sounded like James Earl Jones, but he resembled him as well. He flashed that smile that made him a favorite among voters. “Lauren is wonderful and the kids are great. I’m still the luckiest man alive. And how is Thomas?”

  Vanessa immediately tensed up. She didn’t want the senator to know her personal business because he was big on family values. She kept her expression perfectly neutral. “Thomas is fine. Working hard.”

  Senator Johnson looked around, then leaned in and softly said, “Have you found a charitable cause to align yourself with?”

  Vanessa winced. The last time she’d talked with the senator, she assured him that she would find a charitable organization to throw her support behind. He’d told her that she needed that to make herself more favorable in her run for political office.